My son was focused as he walked to his All-State audition room; he had missed a perfect score by one point the previous year so he was down to his last chance. The darkness of his tuxedo contrasted beautifully with the hallway colors. He was neatly packed with his trumpet case slung across his shoulders, trumpet with mute in his left hand, and music in his right hand. The starkness of the image clearly portrayed the solitude of a musician walking into the culmination of all his preparation.